The administration of President Donald Trump has decided to terminate legal protections for several thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians currently residing in the United States. According to a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security, this decision will impact approximately 14,600 Afghans and 7,900 Cameroonians.

These individuals have been able to live in the US under the designation of “temporary protected status” or TPS, which is typically offered by the US government to individuals already in the country who cannot safely return to their home countries due to conflict, natural disaster, or other circumstances. However, the Trump administration has been attempting to eliminate TPS protections for multiple nationalities since taking office in January, as part of a broader crackdown on both legal and undocumented immigration.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that conditions in both Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer meet the criteria for TPS. Critics, however, argue that fighting between the government and separatists has been ongoing in Cameroon since 2017, and that the Taliban has been in control of the government in Afghanistan since the withdrawal of US and Western forces in 2021, committing widespread human rights abuses.

Refugee groups quickly denounced the move, with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president of the nonprofit Global Refuge, labeling the revocation of the TPS for Afghans as a “morally indefensible betrayal.” She warned that those returned to Afghanistan would face persecution. Vignarajah highlighted that Afghanistan is still experiencing Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disasters.

While the US evacuated over 82,000 Afghans, the majority were granted temporary “parole” or other legal statuses based on their direct work with the US government. However, the end of TPS would still affect a significant portion of that total group, with their TPS status expiring in May. Veterans groups and politicians from across the political spectrum have called for more legal avenues for Afghans to seek safety in the US, particularly those who worked alongside US troops or the US-backed government.

Additionally, US lawmakers recently urged the Trump administration to extend the status for Cameroonians, who face civilian attacks in their home country. They are now set to lose that protection in June.

Overall, the Trump administration has been working to close several avenues for temporary stays in the US, arguing that it is “restoring the rule of law.” However, many of these moves target immigration categories established under Trump’s predecessor and political rival, former President Joe Biden. Trump has also pursued a campaign of “mass deportation” during his second term. Removing legal protections from immigrants allows the government to potentially remove them from the country.

This is not the first time Trump has targeted TPS. During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, he attempted to end most TPS enrollment but was blocked by federal courts. In his second term, Trump has continued a similar push, seeking to strip nearly 300,000 Venezuelans of their TPS in February. However, his attempt was blocked by a US district judge in late March. Trump has also moved to end the humanitarian parole program that granted legal status to over 500,000 Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans under Biden, but a federal judge blocked him from doing so.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/12/trump-officials-end-temporary-protected-status-for-afghans-cameroonians?traffic_source=rss